Page 239 - 1-Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development by Norman Walzer (z-lib.org)

228 Don Macke

through visitation is it possible to fully understand reasons why these ef-
forts are achieving results.

Community Resources
The past decade has seen an explosion of new resources that can help
communities become more entrepreneurial. Some of these resources are
highlighted in the next section.

RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship
The RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship was created mainly to pro-
vide a one-stop shop for community entrepreneurship information. Several
community-friendly resources that can help local leaders in pursuing a suc-
cessful entrepreneurship initiative are as follows:
The Website (www.energizingentrepreneurs.org) compiles a great deal of
information on local entrepreneurship together in one location. It is free, is
updated regularly, and it contains easy-to-use information with links to the
other resources discussed in this chapter.
The Rural Entrepreneurship Newsletter is also free and is available electron-
ically every three weeks. It contains information organized in short sections
that allows for a quick review of important topics related to entrepreneur-
ship development. This newsletter provides cutting-edge applied research, a
calendar of upcoming events, and, most importantly, electronic links that
connect readers to potentially interesting resources.
Energizing Entrepreneurs: Charting a Course for Rural Communities. This com-
munity guidebook is a serious resource for practitioners. It can serve as a com-
munity guide in building a strategy, and it complements the Website where
additional information, tools, stories, and other resources can be located
quickly. This guidebook provides a comprehensive, easy to read, and logical
approach for community leaders seeking to pursue entrepreneurship as a de-
velopment strategy. The book is supported by a Website, www.energizing
entrepreneurs.org, with real-time and more in-depth information.

National Practitioners Network

Interested practitioners can join (also free) the National Practitioners
Network. This network can help connect practitioners with others under-
taking similar work. This informal network helps users find answers to spe-
cific questions, meet colleagues, find mentors, and become connected. Ul-
timately, this approach will enable people in very remote places interested
in entrepreneurship to be on the inside of the field through critical con-
nections with other practitioners and resources.